How to Feed a Baby: Global Processes and Individual Choices 公开
Rubtsova, Anna A. (2011)
Published
Abstract
How to Feed a Baby: Global Processes and Individual
Choices
By Anna A. Rubtsova
Parents' decisions about infant feeding may seem to be a matter of
individual choice but
they are subject to the influence of many social factors. This
dissertation studies the
impact of global economic, political, and cultural processes on
infant feeding decisions
worldwide, using world-polity, world-system, and McDonaldization
theories. I
hypothesize that global factors affect infant feeding practices
through changes in both
social institutions, such as national legislation, and individual
preferences. In one portion
of the dissertation, I conduct quantitative analyses of the effects
of global factors on rates
of exclusive breastfeeding of infants up to six months of age in 47
countries in the year
2000. The results show that both integration into the world economy
and general
rationalization/McDonaldization are negatively associated with
rates of exclusive
breastfeeding. Integration into world society (rather than the
world economy) has a
positive impact on breastfeeding rates, partially via the mechanism
of states' adoption of
the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
Another portion of the
study examines how global processes affect decision-making by
individual caretakers,
based on 60 semi-structured interviews with mothers of infants
(half in Atlanta, USA,
and half in Kiev, Ukraine). I found that women's infant feeding
discourse and practices
reflect numerous global factors, such as the efficiency criteria
connected with
McDonaldization and world-cultural scripts promoting breastfeeding
(e.g.,
WHO/UNICEF guidelines on breastfeeding). The impact of global
factors is mediated by
national contextual factors as well as mothers' personal
circumstances, socio-economic
status, and micro-level interactions. One of the key mechanisms
through which global
processes affect individual decision-making is that of identity
construction and the
redefinition of motherhood. World-cultural processes drive the
rationalization of
motherhood, which leads to increased reliance on professional
advice and specialized
literature on child care, development, and parenting. These
findings contribute to the
sociological literature on globalization by advancing our knowledge
of its effects on
everyday life. The study also yields implications for policies
designed to affect infant
feeding practices at the national and international levels.
Table of Contents
Page
Chapter 1
1
Theoretical and Empirical Puzzles
2
Dissertation Overview
7
Chapter 2. Theoretical Framework
13
A Brief History of Infant Feeding as a Global Issue
14
Overall Theoretical Framework and Definitions
20
Infant Feeding and Global Cultural, Political, and Economic Processes
25
The Macro-Micro Link for Infant Feeding
46
Conclusions
51
Chapter 3. Research Design and Methods
55
Research Design
56
Qualitative Methods
57
Quantitative Methods
66
Chapter 4. Infant Feeding in Global Perspective
83
Data and Methods
87
Results
90
Discussion and Conclusions
102
Chapter 5. Two Cases in Point: Infant Feeding in USA and Ukraine
111
The Ukrainian Context
112
US Context
125
Conclusions
136
Chapter 6. Feeding Choices: When Does McDonaldization Matter?
139
Breastfeeding: Taken-for-Granted or Rationalized?
142
Formula: Convenience or "Chemistry?"
151
Supplementary Foods: Home-Made or McDonaldized?
174
Conclusions
183
Chapter 7. Between Scylla and Charybdis: Global Processes, Local Contexts, and Micro- Level Interactions
185
Tradition Encounters UNICEF: World-Polity Processes and Local Contexts
189
Class Matters: Infant Feeding and World-System Structures
242
Conclusions
258
Chapter 8. Conclusions
264
Summary of Main Findings
265
Theoretical Implications
272
Policy Implications
281
Limitations and Further Directions
284
References
287
Appendix A. Variable Descriptions and Data Sources
315
Appendix B. Pierson Correlation Coefficients
317
Appendix C. Descriptive Statistics for Quantitative Variables
318
Appendix D. Principal Component Factor Analysis
320
Appendix E. Interview Guides
321
Appendix F. Consent Form
325
Appendix G. Recruitment Materials
328
Appendix H. Interview Analysis - List of Codes
332
About this Dissertation
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